NationStates Jolt Archive

Sorry, first of all this thread is not meant to flamebait, I am simply hoping to start a discussion on why american television programmes are so terrible.

After about a year and a half of not having more than four channels, I found out that I could catch most of what I was missing by going to the gym. I was able to discover the "joy" of cable programming, so at least so I thought.

To my horrid surprise, all of my previous favourite channels are now filled with crap. How can television change so much within a short one and a half years?

For instance,

History Channel
before: random interesting shows about the history of ancient cultures, inventions, food, etc
now: shows about the alaska wilderness, and ice truckers, for up to 16 hours a day (I kid you not)

Discovery Channel
before: religious analysis, nature shows, mythbusters, etc
now: some show about a bunch of chaps stuck on a fishing ship (and this show runs about 24/7)

Food Channel
before: teaches you how to cook
now: reality shows about aspiring chefs talking to *shudders* Martha Stuart

MTV
before: music videos with actual music in them
now: shows about hue heffner and his ditzy girls doing ditzy things/hulk hogan's daughter's pms journals or whatever

Cartoon Network
before: quality cartoons that was actually fun to watch
now: badly drawn series with little to no plot and repeated jokes

CNN/Fox/MSNBC
before: haven't watched it before
now: blah blah blah obama is a socialist, blah blah blah mccain, wmd, foreign visit, petrol prices, etc

And the list goes on and on and on.

Why is American television becoming so boring now? It's like the entire industry is being dumbed down or something. Now it feels like there's 70 channels and nothing good on.

Oh, also if anyone wants to recommend some good shows that are actually enjoyable, then please feel free to share them. :)

its summertime and the networks are only showing crap.

if you LIKE tv shows, there should be some over the spectrum of the 100+ channels that will appeal to you. if you dont like tv, its kind of a waste to bother with it.

try "the closer" and "saving grace" on tnt on mondays. kyra sedgwick and holly hunter are amazingly good.

It's summer. Blech. Wait till fall comes again. It'll be back to normal.

It doesn't. I will list good american show's, not counting cartoons -

House
Grey's Anatomy
Various Law and Orders
Anything with CCTV in int's name
CSI (But not Miami that iritates me)
The Daily Show with Jon Stweard


There, thats six of the top off my head.

A little off topic, but I read somewhere that watching television greatly reduces brain activity, in fact I'm going to go look that up right now...

*Edit* Found a couple things...

http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/voices/200111/1119television.html

http://www.familyresource.com/lifestyles/mental-environment/television-opiate-of-the-masses

They aren't the original sources I read, but they say the same thing.

There's always Lou Dobbs.

PA: It's summer. Television, during the summer, automatically sucks. It's all reruns.

It is sad, isn't it. I've been avoiding anything that smacks of reality TV - Except for dog shows and athletic events. Otherwise, I'm pretty much confined to reruns of Cold Case, NCIS, Numb3rs, anything CSI (I have to agree with the negative feelings about CSI: Miami, it's become the Horatio Caine Hour), and, when I can find it, Battlestar Galactica (btw, is anyone as disappointed as I am that the finale won't be shown until late '08 or early '09 - talk about stupid scheduling - I hate the Sci Fi channel).

Oh, and what is the reason for Ghost Whisperer?

It is sad, isn't it. I've been avoiding anything that smacks of reality TV - Except for dog shows and athletic events. Otherwise, I'm pretty much confined to reruns of Cold Case, NCIS, Numb3rs, anything CSI (I have to agree with the negative feelings about CSI: Miami, it's become the Horatio Caine Hour), and, when I can find it, Battlestar Galactica (btw, is anyone as disappointed as I am that the finale won't be shown until late '08 or early '09 - talk about stupid scheduling - I hate the Sci Fi channel).


Actually, the BSG delay was brought on by the writers strike.

Finding good TV shows is like mining. Most of what you're digging through is just dirt, but occasionally you find something worth your time.

Personally, I usually just don't watch any.

Cartoon Network
before: quality cartoons that was actually fun to watch
now: badly drawn series with little to no plot and repeated jokes
Uh, no.

Old Cartoon Network - Cow & Chicken, I Am Weasel, Dexter's Labratory, Powerpuff Girls, other crap, Land Before Time marathons. They occasionally had old, classic cartoons after dark. Now it is anime and better cartoons.

You must mean Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon used to have interesting cartoons & shows like Rocko's Modern Life, Clarissa Explains It All, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Secret World of Alex Mac, etc and now it is all live action crap with teenie boppers.

I don't watch TV that much. When I do, though, I usually watch stuff like Mythbusters, Law and Order (Except for the original), House, COPS, America's Most Wanted, some shows on TruTV/CourtTV, South Park, and of course, the Daily Show and Colbert Report.

BTW, Mexican TV sucks pure shit through a garden hose.

There's always Lou Dobbs.

Lou Dobbs is like the cancer of modern political televised discourse.


He's so bad Fox won't even take him.

Lou Dobbs is like the cancer of modern political televised discourse.


He's so bad Fox won't even take him.
one watches lou dobbs in the hope that his head will actually explode live on-air some day.

I recently (yay for DVR) started watching the show Mad Men on AMC and I recommend it to anyone who is disillusioned with American television.

I don't watch TV all that much, probably because I agree with the OP. Most of it is shit and the precious jewels that aren't tend to go to shit over time. Still though, like I said above, not all of it is bad is you take the time to shovel enough shit out of the way.

This post did have a segment where I bitched about a ton of shows I had problems with, but I figured it would be prudent to bite my tongue, if only to prevent disturbing the hornets nest of fan boys and girls that could be wandering around. However, I figured there was one segment that rung so true that I feel it must be said:

For Christ's sakes, when are the computers going to stop beeping so much in all these shows! I am at a computer right now, and it sure as hell doesn't beep at every. single. possible. moment. If it did, I am sure the speakers would have died a horrible, horrible, death a long time ago, just like the annoying as hell furby I used to own (don't ask).

Sorry, first of all this thread is not meant to flamebait, I am simply hoping to start a discussion on why american television programmes are so terrible.

After about a year and a half of not having more than four channels, I found out that I could catch most of what I was missing by going to the gym. I was able to discover the "joy" of cable programming, so at least so I thought.

To my horrid surprise, all of my previous favourite channels are now filled with crap. How can television change so much within a short one and a half years?

For instance,

History Channel
before: random interesting shows about the history of ancient cultures, inventions, food, etc
now: shows about the alaska wilderness, and ice truckers, for up to 16 hours a day (I kid you not)

Discovery Channel
before: religious analysis, nature shows, mythbusters, etc
now: some show about a bunch of chaps stuck on a fishing ship (and this show runs about 24/7)

Food Channel
before: teaches you how to cook
now: reality shows about aspiring chefs talking to *shudders* Martha Stuart

MTV
before: music videos with actual music in them
now: shows about hue heffner and his ditzy girls doing ditzy things/hulk hogan's daughter's pms journals or whatever

Cartoon Network
before: quality cartoons that was actually fun to watch
now: badly drawn series with little to no plot and repeated jokes

CNN/Fox/MSNBC
before: haven't watched it before
now: blah blah blah obama is a socialist, blah blah blah mccain, wmd, foreign visit, petrol prices, etc

And the list goes on and on and on.

Why is American television becoming so boring now? It's like the entire industry is being dumbed down or something. Now it feels like there's 70 channels and nothing good on.

Oh, also if anyone wants to recommend some good shows that are actually enjoyable, then please feel free to share them. :)

All these channels I watch in Australia, however, I suspect and know that there will be different shows programmed to watch. So I will go through all the ones you have listed.

History Channel: Occasionally shows something decent, but more often than not it is all about WWII, while I am a WWII buff and have watched and read up on the subject even I have had enough. Ice road truckers is shown on FOX8 so I don't have to worry about that.

I will say as part of the History Channel we have a channel known as Bio, short for Biography, while I enjoyed it at the start with many documentaries on people throughout time and industries and areas, it has now dumbed down to show crappy shows such as Dawg the Bounty Hunter, Divorce Court which really belong on another channel.

Discovery Channel: It is the same as History used to show a lot of good documentaries I liked Crime night on Tuesday night many, many years ago, but now has dumbed down their shows and will talk about the best nightclubs throughout the world and the type of people that go there, they have started to show doco's again but nowhere near the amount they used to.

Food: I can only go on our equivalent which is known as Lifestyle Food, so I can't say much on it despite the fact that I still enjoy it as it has a lot of the cooking shows which show people how to cook and new recipes, I like the Floyd series they show.

MTV: Now what can I say about this, it has gone downhill, it used to show a lot of music and you would think with a name as MTV it would continue but nowadays they show more reality TV than you can poke a stick at. Hell this year they changed the MTV Australian Video Music Awards, over to the MTV Australia Awards and stared off giving out awards for crap such as the good karma award and best sports star award while dropping Best Artist, Best Video, Best Group, suffice to say I didn't bother to watch it this year and will not again.

Cartoon Network: The same used to show good decent shows but the new cartoons are not funny, and are quite frankly shit, I weep for today’s kids when I see that this is what is served up for them, they have no idea.

CN also has another channel known as Boomerang, here is where I can see good cartoons such as Tom & Jerry, Loony Tunes, Speed Racer, Wacky Racers, The Jetsons, The Flintstones and the list goes on, the poor thing is that nowadays they have also stared to introduce new shows which were somewhat big about 10 years ago which I wish they wouldn't certainly not increase the amount they are showing, these include Dexter’s Lab, Johnny Bravo etc.

Someone also mentioned Nickelodeon, now I used to enjoy most shows when I was younger which are now hardly shown, however, I have seen some of the new shows with my son and they are nowhere near as good as some of the others, at least there is Disney Channel, which has some decent shows, however, some of them are Australian.

As for news services, while I can watch FOX and CNN I prefer to watch local news services, in saying that, however, I that cahnnel does sometimes have CBS and ABC News which I might watch.

For Christ's sakes, when are the computers going to stop beeping so much in all these shows! I am at a computer right now, and it sure as hell doesn't beep at every. single. possible. moment. If it did, I am sure the speakers would have died a horrible, horrible, death a long time ago, just like the annoying as hell furby I used to own (don't ask).

i love it when they are doing some kind of a search and you see the process on the monitor as it goes through every possible file in its quest.

i love it when they are doing some kind of a search and you see the process on the monitor as it goes through every possible file in its quest.

Oh god, that too. I mean seriously, do they think people are as ignorant about computers now as they were 20-30 years ago?

Get with the times guys!

Oh wait, maybe these were the same guys who loved to add a sound effect and animation to each letter that came on the screen in their power point presentation project in school, just to give their teachers migraines.

its summertime and the networks are only showing crap.

if you LIKE tv shows, there should be some over the spectrum of the 100+ channels that will appeal to you. if you dont like tv, its kind of a waste to bother with it.

try "the closer" and "saving grace" on tnt on mondays. kyra sedgwick and holly hunter are amazingly good.

Why? Do the networks think that absolutely no one watches them or something during the summer?

I did see a commercial for Saving Grace and that seemed quite good, although I haven't been able to catch the show.

House
Grey's Anatomy
Various Law and Orders
Anything with CCTV in int's name
CSI (But not Miami that iritates me)
The Daily Show with Jon Stweard

House is excellent, and speaking of talk shows, my favourite is probably Jay Leno. Although most of the shows you mentioned can be found on the free/antenna channels, so they don't count. :P

Old Cartoon Network - Cow & Chicken, I Am Weasel, Dexter's Labratory, Powerpuff Girls, other crap, Land Before Time marathons. They occasionally had old, classic cartoons after dark. Now it is anime and better cartoons.

Are you kidding? The cartoon cartoons back in the late 90s and the early millennium were some of the best shows in terms of storyline and art styles. But then again each generation grew up with its own cartoons so I'm a bit biased.

I'd like you to list some of the "better" cartoons though. Although I must admit I am taking quite a liking to Flapjack because of its historical pirate-esque setting. :)

I don't watch TV that much. When I do, though, I usually watch stuff like Mythbusters, Law and Order (Except for the original), House, COPS, America's Most Wanted, some shows on TruTV/CourtTV, South Park, and of course, the Daily Show and Colbert Report.

I'm really starting to like south park. Back when I was a teenager I used to think it was really vulgar and stupid, but now I understand the social issues I think it's quite the brilliant show. In a way it's making fun of the society and its flaws.

And Blouman Empire, thanks for that detailed responce. I enjoyed reading it. :)

Why? Do the networks think that absolutely no one watches them or something during the summer?

It is because ratings aren't counted during the summer, and so the channels have no incentive to perform well. When ratings are being counted that is when they need to perform as companies will want to put their ads on to the TV shows that has the most viewers, and so TV channels in order to increase revenue need to ensure they are showing the best shows during the 40 weeks of ratings.

This also is why they will never show any of their flagship shows during summer but will wait until ratings are counted and/or they have the best chance of winning the night sometimes we won't see another season of a show for a year because they are waiting till they can profit from it the best.

And Blouman Empire, thanks for that detailed responce. I enjoyed reading it. :)

Your're welcome.

Oh, and what is the reason for Ghost Whisperer?

Jennifer Love Hewitt needed a job?

Uh, no.

Old Cartoon Network - Cow & Chicken, I Am Weasel, Dexter's Labratory, Powerpuff Girls, other crap, Land Before Time marathons. They occasionally had old, classic cartoons after dark. Now it is anime and better cartoons.

You must mean Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon used to have interesting cartoons & shows like Rocko's Modern Life, Clarissa Explains It All, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Secret World of Alex Mac, etc and now it is all live action crap with teenie boppers.

Until recently they made up for the rest of their current lineup by showing Avatar: The Last Airbender (Avatar: The Legend of Aang for those of you outside the US). That was one bloody great show. Unfortunatly it wraped up recently.

The one program that simply blows my ability to comprehend television is: Hope and Faith

Who gave it the green light, what possible test audience could they have found to say anything even slightly positive, are the scriptwriters on Prozac, stuck in some kind of twisted time warp that makes them create 'jokes' so lame, characters so uninteresting, just pure, unadulterated crap?

It's beyond terrible, it's the kind of program that might just be fine 40 years ago when television was enough of a novelty that anything might be fascinating but for today, I mean, I just can't get my head around the fact that time and money is so utterly wasted on producing a show that fails on so many different levels.

There's other programs that bug me but this is by far the worst of the lot - why our cable channel bought it I'll never know - it sucks so much it's almost a black hole.

American television is pretty much horrible. I watch, at MOST, maybe 3 hours per week or so. Usually it is substantially less. There was a point last semester of college where I went almost a month straight without using a TV for anything other than video games.

I exclusively watch: Comedy Central, Food Network, Travel Channel, History Channel / History Channel International, Discovery Channel. I don't watch the news on TV. Ever...it is almost entirely corporate propaganda.

If anyone likes shows about other nations, (their culture, history, and food), I HIGHLY recommend Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

I usually content myself with watching Dark Angel reruns on the Sci-Fi channel during the summer times. ;) Although the movies on that channel have gotten really terrible.

Personally I can't watch any television without feeling slightly retarded AND CAN ANYBODY PLEASE TELL ME WTF IS WITH ALL THE DOCTOR SHOWS??? House, Scrubs etc etc.... wtf?????

Too many of our Channels are succumbing to the Reality Show bug....

Ice Road Truckers, Axe Men, Deadliest Catch, Alaska show number thirty five...

WTF...when they come to their senses things will get better...*looks forward too new Mythbusters*

Sorry, first of all this thread is not meant to flamebait, I am simply hoping to start a discussion on why american television programmes are so terrible.



Bit harsh there. They've produced some excellent stuff - particularily that HBO crowd.

Personally I can't watch any television without feeling slightly retarded AND CAN ANYBODY PLEASE TELL ME WTF IS WITH ALL THE DOCTOR SHOWS??? House, Scrubs etc etc.... wtf?????

The theory I've heard is that the favourite topics of Joe "Lowest Common Denominator" Citizen are a) who he's sleeping with (or hoping to sleep with) at the moment and b) what he's sick with at the moment.

Thus one gets sleaze and medical dramas. Put them together and you get sleazy medical dramas! The other major thing Joe Citizen likes is cop shows ... now if only there were some way to make a cop show set in a hospital!

maybe these were the same guys who loved to add a sound effect and animation to each letter that came on the screen in their power point presentation project in school, just to give their teachers migraines.
Hehe, I know exactly the sort of person you mean.. makes me glad there was no such thing as a PP presentation when I was at school :tongue:

if only there were some way to make a cop show set in a hospital!
Cue remake of Quincy in 5,4,3,2...

now if only there were some way to make a cop show set in a hospital!

Oh, there is, and unfortunately, it will happen (again) edventually...

See, this (http://www.theyfightcrime.org/) is where all the writers come up with their great ideas.

Edit: I have to add this little bit:

"He's a scarfaced hunchbacked jungle king in drag."

The image I got from that was priceless...

You think American TV is bad? You ain't seen nothing til you've seen Aussie TV. We haven't done anything interesting since the seventies.

Edit: I have to add this little bit:

"He's a scarfaced hunchbacked jungle king in drag."

The image I got from that was priceless...

Priceless?

Straughn's been getting me those images for $4.95 a pop.

LoL... I lived in Pakistan for a year, and I have to say that their channels are much more interesting than America... well the cable basically steals Dubai's channels, so its pretty much expected although it can get somewhat frustrating when your waiting for the Nostradamus thingy on the history channel and it said its playing at 8PM when its like 10:30 already lol

Why does American telly suck so much?
It doesn't all suck, some of the best drama I've ever seen has come from US screens in the past few years.

See Deadwood, The Sopranos and, possibly the greatest TV show ever made, The Wire.

Ya I've heard The Wire isn't too bad, in fact a bunch of tv buffs have recommended it to me, and I've been interested in Deadwood, but aren't those all HBO? They aren't proper American Television, not like FOX or CN! Lol..

Thus one gets sleaze and medical dramas. Put them together and you get sleazy medical dramas! The other major thing Joe Citizen likes is cop shows ... now if only there were some way to make a cop show set in a hospital!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105986/

Way ahead of you, it ran for 8 years.

You think American TV is bad? You ain't seen nothing til you've seen Aussie TV. We haven't done anything interesting since the seventies.

Come now, what about such Australian shows like Blue Heelers, Sea Patrol, Fast Forward and its predecessor Full Frontal and Hey Dad etc. Now you can't say that these were all shit, I will say while I enjoyed Sea Patrol there was to much of things happening at the right moment written into the show.

There is also a lot of good Australian TV shows for kids which have been made over the decades.

That one Australian TV show is awful though... whats it called? Some guys Daughter's I can't remember the name..

American tv sucks because it's all about ratings. And ratings means money. And those channels need money! So they pump out addictive c**p to attract the majority of idiots infesting this planet.

The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) on the other hand aspires to provide quality entertainment to both mainstream and minority tastes. Being funded by the government means that they can A. take time to make good quality stuff B. Create one off documentaries and programmes of cultural interest and finally C. Make shows which appeal to smaller audiences.

And all becasue they are guarenteed a flow of cash. Personally i think this is great, the BBC only has to worry about quality, not quantity or ratings or anything terrible like that.

After all, American Tele is virtually mad eup of popular seriers is it not? That's why you don't get one off programmes about Indian culture, because it's far more profitable to make a long running series about two men living in a flat with a young boy and throw in loads of suggesstive jokes.

God i'm glad i only watch British television.... it's so much more.... clever.

That one Australian TV show is awful though... whats it called? Some guys Daughter's I can't remember the name..

McClouds Daughters, or something like that, yes I saw something of 5 minutes and that was enough for me never to watch it again.

Yes some Australian shows are bad but there has been some good shows made since the 70's

Lol... I actually like a lot of Japanese Shows, not the anime per say but they have tv shows they call "Dramas" and they can be absolutely hilarious for example the show "Nodame Cantabile"

Sorry, first of all this thread is not meant to flamebait, I am simply hoping to start a discussion on why american television programmes are so terrible.

After about a year and a half of not having more than four channels, I found out that I could catch most of what I was missing by going to the gym. I was able to discover the "joy" of cable programming, so at least so I thought.

To my horrid surprise, all of my previous favourite channels are now filled with crap. How can television change so much within a short one and a half years?

For instance,

History Channel
before: random interesting shows about the history of ancient cultures, inventions, food, etc
now: shows about the alaska wilderness, and ice truckers, for up to 16 hours a day (I kid you not)

Discovery Channel
before: religious analysis, nature shows, mythbusters, etc
now: some show about a bunch of chaps stuck on a fishing ship (and this show runs about 24/7)

Food Channel
before: teaches you how to cook
now: reality shows about aspiring chefs talking to *shudders* Martha Stuart

MTV
before: music videos with actual music in them
now: shows about hue heffner and his ditzy girls doing ditzy things/hulk hogan's daughter's pms journals or whatever

Cartoon Network
before: quality cartoons that was actually fun to watch
now: badly drawn series with little to no plot and repeated jokes

CNN/Fox/MSNBC
before: haven't watched it before
now: blah blah blah obama is a socialist, blah blah blah mccain, wmd, foreign visit, petrol prices, etc

And the list goes on and on and on.

Why is American television becoming so boring now? It's like the entire industry is being dumbed down or something. Now it feels like there's 70 channels and nothing good on.

Oh, also if anyone wants to recommend some good shows that are actually enjoyable, then please feel free to share them. :)

The Middle Man. Monday nights on ABC. Watch. Love.

Ya I've heard The Wire isn't too bad, in fact a bunch of tv buffs have recommended it to me, and I've been interested in Deadwood, but aren't those all HBO? They aren't proper American Television, not like FOX or CN! Lol..
From where I'm sitting, they're US television shows.

From where I'm sitting, they're US television shows.

>> Is joking, to the effect that because they are good shows they can't be American, sorry about the poor taste =P

It doesn't all suck, some of the best drama I've ever seen has come from US screens in the past few years.

See Deadwood, The Sopranos and, possibly the greatest TV show ever made, The Wire.

I tried to make the same point, but they seem caught up in a frenzy of 'Stars Dancing On Ice' hatred and are blind to the gems in their midst....Though I have to say I was suprised when informed that "Celebrity Rehab"(I think it was called) was a real show....


Yes some Australian shows are bad but there has been some good shows made since the 70's ].

The 70s.........."Boney"!!!!

I remember liking American tv when I was over there....however, I can only compare it to Aussie tv...

Come now, what about such Australian shows like Blue Heelers, Sea Patrol, Fast Forward and its predecessor Full Frontal and Hey Dad etc. Now you can't say that these were all shit, I will say while I enjoyed Sea Patrol there was to much of things happening at the right moment written into the show.

There is also a lot of good Australian TV shows for kids which have been made over the decades.

Sea Patrol - You mean that propaganda machine for the Australian Navy?

Australian shows to me are overacted, pretentious soap operas. There is no realism, overacting, and they tend to be very black-and-white or overly stereotypical. The characters are simply not believable or endearing. I think that one of the few things that Americans do well is their TV. Shows like Dexter, Deadwood, My So-Called Life (short-lived and most people won't agree with me), Law and Order, CSI, House, and a lot of others that I can't think of right now because I am tired and want to go to bed are groundbreaking and so realistic and believable. They are innovative, well-acted and provide a unique perspective.

TV is dreadful crap. I suggest you throw yours away.
In October I swapped mine for 50 quid and a guitar, a decision I have never regretted. I can still watch DVDs on the computer, so the film collection hasn't gone to waste.

When I'm round someone else's house and their TV is on, I manage to take an interest because it has some novelty value. Usually, though, it's about ten minutes before I remember why I got rid of the thing in the first place.

Frankly, the nasty letters I keep getting from the TV Licence people are far more entertaining than the TV ever was. Apparently, there is no TV licence registered at my address, and I'm likely to get a visit from the 'enforcement division' any day now. Scary, scary stuff.

TV is dreadful crap. I suggest you throw yours away.
In October I swapped mine for 50 quid and a guitar, a decision I have never regretted. I can still watch DVDs on the computer, so the film collection hasn't gone to waste.

When I'm round someone else's house and their TV is on, I manage to take an interest because it has some novelty value. Usually, though, it's about ten minutes before I remember why I got rid of the thing in the first place.

Frankly, the nasty letters I keep getting from the TV Licence people are far more entertaining than the TV ever was. Apparently, there is no TV licence registered at my address, and I'm likely to get a visit from the 'enforcement division' any day now. Scary, scary stuff.

Why exactly do you need a TV license anyway?

It doesn't all suck, some of the best drama I've ever seen has come from US screens in the past few years.

See Deadwood, The Sopranos and, possibly the greatest TV show ever made, The Wire.

I think the reason why HBO and Showtime make so many good shows, is because the don't really have to worry about rating for individual shows. Once you suscribe, and they have your money, they have it whether you watch 30 minutes a week, or all day long. So they can narrowcast, and focus on making stuff that's considered good, instead of making something that'll keep anyone watching all day.

Also, the ability to show tits helps. :)

Sea Patrol - You mean that propaganda machine for the Australian Navy?

Australian shows to me are overacted, pretentious soap operas. There is no realism, overacting, and they tend to be very black-and-white or overly stereotypical. The characters are simply not believable or endearing. I think that one of the few things that Americans do well is their TV. Shows like Dexter, Deadwood, My So-Called Life (short-lived and most people won't agree with me), Law and Order, CSI, House, and a lot of others that I can't think of right now because I am tired and want to go to bed are groundbreaking and so realistic and believable. They are innovative, well-acted and provide a unique perspective.

No the other sea Patrol that was on SBS at 11:00 pm Thursday nights, of course I mean that propaganda machine, is that the why you refused to watch it? While I did mention its flaws it was still a decent show. I also mentioned a few sit-coms how they can be soap operas is beyond me.

Good TV shows:
1) Aqua Teen Hunger Force
2) Simpsons
3) Family Guy
4) Squidbillies
5) Robot Chicken
6) Monk
7) Law and Order
8) most documentaries
9) Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!
10) Jeopardy

I personally like to watch the BBCAmerica, its pretty good. It has doctor who and robbin hood.

The Middle Man. Monday nights on ABC. Watch. Love.

Really? I will have to check it out next week. What is it a comedy? Drama?

EDIT: What ABC?

The 70s.........."Boney"!!!!

Sorry mate, I am not getting the reference.

TV is dreadful crap. I suggest you throw yours away.
In October I swapped mine for 50 quid and a guitar, a decision I have never regretted. I can still watch DVDs on the computer, so the film collection hasn't gone to waste.

When I'm round someone else's house and their TV is on, I manage to take an interest because it has some novelty value. Usually, though, it's about ten minutes before I remember why I got rid of the thing in the first place.

Frankly, the nasty letters I keep getting from the TV Licence people are far more entertaining than the TV ever was. Apparently, there is no TV licence registered at my address, and I'm likely to get a visit from the 'enforcement division' any day now. Scary, scary stuff.

Computer > TV. I can't even watch tv anymore, if I'm over at my friends house and someone turns on the television I'm more likely to find a quiet place to sleep than be forced to sleep by the insane boredom that the tv brings with it. Btw wtf is a TV license? lol

Good TV shows:
1) Aqua Teen Hunger Force
2) Simpsons
3) Family Guy
4) Squidbillies
5) Robot Chicken
6) Monk
7) Law and Order
8) most documentaries
9) Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!
10) Jeopardy

Failure to list Mythbusters! :eek:

To my horrid surprise, all of my previous favourite channels are now filled with crap. How can television change so much within a short one and a half years?

....

Why is American television becoming so boring now? It's like the entire industry is being dumbed down or something. Now it feels like there's 70 channels and nothing good on.

"Telly"? "Programmes"? I take it you're missing the TV of your home country, then; you have my sympathies.

You're right about the reality show glut on a lot of established cable channels. It's all part of the Cable Quality Cycle, a term I just made up for a phenomenon noted by a number of observers.

Since cable channels are in fierce competition with each other, and the way for them to survive is to build a brand identity. Most channels start by trying to hog a niche (hence the Golf, Food, & History channels) but inevitably they find some version of reality show (competitive or otherwise) that's cheaper to produce and gets higher ratings than the quality niche programming they started out with. Lured by the easy promise of higher ratings, they abandon their principles and become a hollowed-out shell of their former selves. Gathered with their similarly-afflicted brothers in the shadowy byways of the cable spectrum, stretching a ghoulish hand toward any unsuspecting viewer who wanders by looking for quality TV. It's a cautionary tale too oft unheeded by those bright young upstart channels.

However, look closely and you will find that there is reason for hope -- some older cable channels have passed through their vale of suckiness and emerged with renewed missions and, more importantly, much better shows. Some examples:
1) USA started out a long time ago providing quirky programs and wrestling, then devolved into soft porn, Gilbert Gottfried, bargain-basement syndicated shows and wrestling, and has recently bounced back with lots of quality-produced, family-friendly dramas (and wrestling.)

2) TNT started out as Ted Turner's way to make a nickel off of his foolhardy purchase of the entire MGM film library, then devolved to showing a random collection of shows and the lousy bits of the MGM library, and has reinvented itself as the "We Know Drama" channel with daytime syndication of popular network shows and original primetime dramas.

In short, there's good programming out there, you just have to avoid cable channels that are in the Suck period of their Cable Quality Cycle. Stick with either new channels (Screw Discovery & TLC, try the Science channel,) or older channels that have emerged from their Suck period.

History Channel
before: random interesting shows about the history of ancient cultures, inventions, food, etc
now: shows about the alaska wilderness, and ice truckers, for up to 16 hours a day (I kid you not)
Ice Road Truckers is the leet, I loves the Canadian accents displayed on the show.

Also we get a fair amount of historical pish on the History Channel in the UK, although it's mainly reruns of The SS or Hitler's War, that or Dogfights, which is really "watch the Israelis kill Arabs or laugh at the dirty Gooks trying to shoot our boys down as we outgun them completely!"
Discovery Channel
before: religious analysis, nature shows, mythbusters, etc
now: some show about a bunch of chaps stuck on a fishing ship (and this show runs about 24/7)
Mythbusters is still on (5pm here in the UK), and is also on Discovery Science. As to nature shows, try UKTV Documentaries if you get it.

And Deadliest Catch is pretty good, although there's not that much to it, and it does get a bit wearing eventually.



And TV is pish because you should be outside, like all of the channels' directors are.

Computer > TV. I can't even watch tv anymore, if I'm over at my friends house and someone turns on the television I'm more likely to find a quiet place to sleep than be forced to sleep by the insane boredom that the tv brings with it. Btw wtf is a TV license? lol
We pay a TV license fee so that the BBC runs without adverts. It's kinda worth it, I guess.

Sea Patrol - You mean that propaganda machine for the Australian Navy?
Also possibly the worst TV I've ever watched :p

"let's create some tensions!"
"nah, it's all good"
"kk"

Good TV shows:
1) Aqua Teen Hunger Force
2) Simpsons
3) Family Guy
4) Squidbillies
5) Robot Chicken
6) Monk
7) Law and Order
8) most documentaries
9) Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!
10) Jeopardy

I must beg to differ. I respectfully disagree with your listings, as I believe the sunday adult swim shows are some of the most wretched programmes on television (remember space ghost and home movies?). I fail to see how anyone can find entertainment out of shows like aqua teen or squidbillies, etc.

Sorry if that sounded a bit harsh.

Parts of it are excellent - Sopranos, Deadwood, Dexter, the Wire etc. the last few years have produced some of the best TV that has even been made. But in the UK we only get to see the best of US television - I assume in the US you probably get to see the best of UK tv and don't get to see rubbish like Bonekickers.

Really? I will have to check it out next week. What is it a comedy? Drama?

EDIT: What ABC?

Superhero comedy/loving parody. ABC Family. Should probably warn you, they bleep out swear words.

>> Is joking, to the effect that because they are good shows they can't be American, sorry about the poor taste =P
No probs mate.


I tried to make the same point, but they seem caught up in a frenzy of 'Stars Dancing On Ice' hatred and are blind to the gems in their midst...
It's the same with any country's telly; for every ten Pop Idol programs here in the UK, there's one Thick Of It (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIzx_Z-TGe4), etc.


I think the reason why HBO and Showtime make so many good shows, is because the don't really have to worry about rating for individual shows. Once you suscribe, and they have your money, they have it whether you watch 30 minutes a week, or all day long. So they can narrowcast, and focus on making stuff that's considered good, instead of making something that'll keep anyone watching all day.
That's mostly the case, but, for example, HBO cancelled Deadwood because it was too expensive for the low ratings to justify. Although they do take a string stance on putting out shows that other networks might not take a gamble on, they've only got a limited budget, and ratings still matter.

Also, the ability to show tits helps. :)
That, and teh swear.

Deadwood has a total of 2980 uses of the word 'fuck' in 3 series. That's a cumulative series tally of 1.56 fucks-per-minute.

:wink:

:)

Because TV caters to stupid people, like those women with bleached blond hair and fake tans.
History and Discovery still have some interesting stuff. Food network has gone to shit, though I still watch Iron Chef America.
Those "News" stations are just a bunch of big headed blabbermouths trying to pass their opinion off as fact.

-----------

I see TV today and I'm like "wtf is this shit?" If you like it, you need to sit back and pick up a copy of 24, the first season, the Sopranos, or Rocko's Modern Life. There were no reality shows back then except cops. Heck, I even remember when there was no internet, which I think made society so much stupider. I also remember when this was all orange groves, as far as the eye could see.

TV is dreadful crap. I suggest you throw yours away.
In October I swapped mine for 50 quid and a guitar, a decision I have never regretted. I can still watch DVDs on the computer, so the film collection hasn't gone to waste.

When I'm round someone else's house and their TV is on, I manage to take an interest because it has some novelty value. Usually, though, it's about ten minutes before I remember why I got rid of the thing in the first place.

Frankly, the nasty letters I keep getting from the TV Licence people are far more entertaining than the TV ever was. Apparently, there is no TV licence registered at my address, and I'm likely to get a visit from the 'enforcement division' any day now. Scary, scary stuff.

do they need a warrant in order to enter your home to look for a bootleg tv?

I personally like to watch the BBCAmerica, its pretty good. It has doctor who and robbin hood.

i enjoy a bit of bbcamerica but it leaves me wondering if there are any good series from britain and if so why dont they show them on bbc america?

i enjoy robin hood but its crap. it has no regard for history or geography. i saw an episode the other day where the OHHHHHH SOOOO british queen mother --ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE--was visiting (i didnt pay attention so i dont know what she was doing in nottingham). did eleanor of aquitaine even speak english?

good tv:

futurama, the simpsons, south park, athf, metalocalpyse, home movies, robot chicken

bad tv:

everything else

Stay away from Saving Grace, unless you enjoy Holly Hunter's scrawny, saggy butt (you will see it every episode, and it causes cancer).

The Closer is excellent.

You can't go wrong with any show hosted by, or narrated by, Mike Rowe.

one watches lou dobbs in the hope that his head will actually explode live on-air some day.Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND??!!! Have you TAKEN LEAVE OF YOUR SENSES???!!!

LoL... I lived in Pakistan for a year, and I have to say that their channels are much more interesting than America... well the cable basically steals Dubai's channels, so its pretty much expected although it can get somewhat frustrating when your waiting for the Nostradamus thingy on the history channel and it said its playing at 8PM when its like 10:30 already lol
Nostradamus predicted that would happen :D

I hate American TV, being a citizen of the United Kingdom. As such, we have some half decent programmes on quite frequently (Channel 4 doesn't count). Having Sky though, it does have a load of rubbish on the listings. We've got at least 400 channels at home, and whilst you have the gems (Dave, Sky Movies etc., Discovery Channel(s)), most are absolute rubbish (Sumo TV for a start). At least the British channels are better since they don't have an advert break every five minutes (come on... are attention spans that bad over there?). Heroes and Mythbusters are good though, even if you can see the bits where commercial breaks should be (15 minutes till each ad break here minimum, and normally with most programmes it's either 30 minutes or even an hour.)

I recommend though you either get a good satellite package (if you like TV), or buy/download some good shows and films.

EDIT - Or join the British Armed Forces. I hear the TV channel they get is very good.

Sorry, first of all this thread is not meant to flamebait, I am simply hoping to start a discussion on why american television programmes are so terrible.

After about a year and a half of not having more than four channels, I found out that I could catch most of what I was missing by going to the gym. I was able to discover the "joy" of cable programming, so at least so I thought.

To my horrid surprise, all of my previous favourite channels are now filled with crap. How can television change so much within a short one and a half years?

For instance,

History Channel
before: random interesting shows about the history of ancient cultures, inventions, food, etc
now: shows about the alaska wilderness, and ice truckers, for up to 16 hours a day (I kid you not)

Discovery Channel
before: religious analysis, nature shows, mythbusters, etc
now: some show about a bunch of chaps stuck on a fishing ship (and this show runs about 24/7)

Food Channel
before: teaches you how to cook
now: reality shows about aspiring chefs talking to *shudders* Martha Stuart

MTV
before: music videos with actual music in them
now: shows about hue heffner and his ditzy girls doing ditzy things/hulk hogan's daughter's pms journals or whatever

Cartoon Network
before: quality cartoons that was actually fun to watch
now: badly drawn series with little to no plot and repeated jokes

CNN/Fox/MSNBC
before: haven't watched it before
now: blah blah blah obama is a socialist, blah blah blah mccain, wmd, foreign visit, petrol prices, etc

And the list goes on and on and on.

Why is American television becoming so boring now? It's like the entire industry is being dumbed down or something. Now it feels like there's 70 channels and nothing good on.

Oh, also if anyone wants to recommend some good shows that are actually enjoyable, then please feel free to share them. :)

moar porn required *nods*

Our television sucks* because:

1) Doing stupid is cheap and easy. But the intellectual snobbishness of our creative class means they can no longer ADMIT to doing stupid. As a result, they actively avoid the kind of shows that were riotously funny in their day, BECAUSE they were stupid. F Troop, Gilligan's Island, and Get Smart, for example. They aimed low, and hit. Now, they aim high, and miss every time.

2) It's written and produced and controlled by intellectuals from wealthy families who think their success is based in brilliance, and not the fact that they're social status allows networked access to each other. Connect up a who's who of Hollywood and you get roommates from ivy league universities, sons and daughters of exclusive country clubs, etc.

3) These same people have managed to convince themselves that the rest of the nation- which manages to cope with far more crap than they do, and yet thrive- must be morons.

4) A pampered and priviledged lifestyle has caused them to be inward focussed and narcissistic in the extreme, to the point where they think it's normal, and they then project these empty values into everything they write, produce, and star in. It would be impossible to make a modern day version of "It's a Wonderful Life"- they would be unable to understand Jimmy Stewart's character. George Bailey and George Costanza cannot mutually exist as protagonists in the same mindscape.

5) Their own obsessions and their own conceits become paraded as norms. Women are primarily preoccupied with beauty and sex. Men are divided into two camps: the vapid and soul-less hunks who are the objects of female desire, and the clueless, hopeless "normal guys" who just can't compete with them. Who sleeps with who is the primary concern- mostly because in the lives of the people who create this stuff, that is THEIR most pressing concern. When you have that kind of money and priviledge, other issues are kept at arms length. But sexual politics invades even the most secure social fortress.

6) At the same time, politeness and political correctness conspire to limit the available subjects, characters, and plots, while keeping the attention focussed on the few left available. (F Troop? Not with Indians with Yiddish accents, no way!) So much is stripped away, and so little left, that it all becomes predictable. We know that the mentally unstable homeless person has a heart of gold and cannot possibly be the villain. We know that the dog survives. We know that the top secret agent's most dangerous nemesis is the rogue agent from the very same agency- very likely the hero's mentor/former partner/former lover. The surviving tropes are so ingrained and overused that it is now an extreme shock when they are violated- if the dog DOESN'T survive the explosion, no matter how unlikely survival seemed, we are shocked.


*mostly. There are/were gems, like South Park, Meerkat Manor and Dead Like Me to be found if one searches.

Sorry, first of all this thread is not meant to flamebait, I am simply hoping to start a discussion on why american television programmes are so terrible.

After about a year and a half of not having more than four channels, I found out that I could catch most of what I was missing by going to the gym. I was able to discover the "joy" of cable programming, so at least so I thought.

To my horrid surprise, all of my previous favourite channels are now filled with crap. How can television change so much within a short one and a half years?

For instance,

History Channel
before: random interesting shows about the history of ancient cultures, inventions, food, etc
now: shows about the alaska wilderness, and ice truckers, for up to 16 hours a day (I kid you not)

Discovery Channel
before: religious analysis, nature shows, mythbusters, etc
now: some show about a bunch of chaps stuck on a fishing ship (and this show runs about 24/7)

Food Channel
before: teaches you how to cook
now: reality shows about aspiring chefs talking to *shudders* Martha Stuart

MTV
before: music videos with actual music in them
now: shows about hue heffner and his ditzy girls doing ditzy things/hulk hogan's daughter's pms journals or whatever

Cartoon Network
before: quality cartoons that was actually fun to watch
now: badly drawn series with little to no plot and repeated jokes

CNN/Fox/MSNBC
before: haven't watched it before
now: blah blah blah obama is a socialist, blah blah blah mccain, wmd, foreign visit, petrol prices, etc

And the list goes on and on and on.

Why is American television becoming so boring now? It's like the entire industry is being dumbed down or something. Now it feels like there's 70 channels and nothing good on.

Oh, also if anyone wants to recommend some good shows that are actually enjoyable, then please feel free to share them. :)

history and Discovery Channel do have somme good stuff up- just not what you emntioned, that crap is junk. luckily, i think the truckers are due to stop soon.

try monsterquest on history and shark week on discovery. they're amking a lot more shows now, and history is starting to go heavly into the hypothetical future and various things. tey're making a show on eveolution and one on the jurassic. dicovery is making a show called "when animals strike". it looks like it'll be getting better.

Yeah, as Yootopia has pointed out, the BBC makes its money from selling annual TV licences, rather than from adverts. Watching TV without a licence is a criminal offence, and you can be fined for it.

do they need a warrant in order to enter your home to look for a bootleg tv?

More than that - they need a police officer, who has to have a warrant. In order for the police to get that warrant, they would need evidence that I'm watching TV without a licence.
The nasty letters are intended to save them the bother of finding any evidence by scaring people into either getting a licence or admitting that they have an unlicensed TV.

All of which means that the TV licensing people are (I hope) out there regularly with their detector van, hoping to get a trace on my home, and failing. And I hope they sit there all night, having a really miserable time.

Note for nitpickers: In British English, the noun is 'licence', the verb is 'license'. Hey, I don't make the rules...

EDIT - Or join the British Armed Forces. I hear the TV channel they get is very good.

The problem is that I'm a pacifist first and a patriot second. But do tell, what channels do they get in the military?


5) Their own obsessions and their own conceits become paraded as norms. Women are primarily preoccupied with beauty and sex. Men are divided into two camps: the vapid and soul-less hunks who are the objects of female desire, and the clueless, hopeless "normal guys" who just can't compete with them. Who sleeps with who is the primary concern

That sums up casting quite well.

try monsterquest on history and shark week on discovery. they're amking a lot more shows now, and history is starting to go heavly into the hypothetical future and various things. tey're making a show on eveolution and one on the jurassic. dicovery is making a show called "when animals strike". it looks like it'll be getting better.

I've seen a few episodes of Monster Quest but the plot is too slow for my liking. They spend almost an hour talking about "evidence" and elusive traces of (insert mythical beast here) and then end up going "and we hope to have more info in the near future". I mean, come on. :(

And to the poster that mentioned Avatar the Last Airbender... I loved the ending. I've been watching that show ever since 2005 and I'm glad they managed to create a good conclusion to an amazing story.

do they need a warrant in order to enter your home to look for a bootleg tv?
Yes. Although the idea of dawn raids by the BBC, sending David Tennant through a front window armed to the teeth amuses me greatly.

Stay away from Saving Grace, unless you enjoy Holly Hunter's scrawny, saggy butt (you will see it every episode, and it causes cancer).

The Closer is excellent.

You can't go wrong with any show hosted by, or narrated by, Mike Rowe.

Okay, I try to stay out of debates about taste because we're all different. [Lewis Black] We're all...snowflakes [/Lewis Black].

But come on. "Dirty Jobs" can be interesting or funny every once in a while, but it's basically the same show every week. The only variation is the nature of the nastiness in question. Entrails, mud, shit, slithering/crawling animals, and places you really wouldn't want to go. Decent show, but a one-trick pony nonetheless. Worst of the Mike Rowe oeuvre is "Deadliest Catch". Unvelievably boring and completely predictable. Pots go out, pots come in, either with lots or very little/no crab. Then *gasp* weather happens! In the Bering Sea? No! Surely not, no! Never! Yawn. Guys who are hired mostly for their strength, endurance and ability to follow orders and their love of a big payday sometimes get at each others' throats? Say it ain't so.

It's like the insanely insipid "Wife Swap" where they go out of the way to find wives they know will be incompatible with their swap families. I saw a preview for one episode featuring a mom who was a trophy for her husband and encouraged to flirt and show with other men to gratify her man's ego get sent to a strict, no-dates-til-your-x-age household. They actually filmed the trophy, when it was her turn to lay down the law, demanding that the other husband's girls get two phone numbers at school that day.

You need only look at small examples of TV to see just how far the US is down the shitter. I fully expect the next show to be some guy testing the necessary saturation of flammable vapors for ignition by sitting in a room with evaporating gasoline and a box of matches.

Oh, and you lay off Holly Hunter. A perky ass is no requirement for a sexy woman unless your mind is underdeveloped.

There. I broke my own rule and ranted in a taste thread. I must now go whip myself with a chain, Asura style. Peace.

Okay, I try to stay out of debates about taste because we're all different. [Lewis Black] We're all...snowflakes [/Lewis Black].

It's like the insanely insipid "Wife Swap" where they go out of the way to find wives they know will be incompatible with their swap families. I saw a preview for one episode featuring a mom who was a trophy for her husband and encouraged to flirt and show with other men to gratify her man's ego get sent to a strict, no-dates-til-your-x-age household. They actually filmed the trophy, when it was her turn to lay down the law, demanding that the other husband's girls get two phone numbers at school that day.

And we wonder why American society has such a high divorce rate. :rolleyes:

Although Wife Swap (or was that trading spouses?) was entertaining when that one fundie lady went ape shit and started screaming "I AM A GOD WARRIOR!!!! YOU ARE ALL TAINTED!!!1" in this one episode and then it ended up all over youtube.

Yes. Although the idea of dawn raids by the BBC, sending David Tennant through a front window armed to the teeth amuses me greatly.
me too.

im pretty sure that if we had this tax in the US, the feds would have been kicking in doors all over the country.

Hey.

Law & Order doesn't suck.

Bitches.

Hey.

Law & Order doesn't suck.
Much.

Homicide: Life on the Street was much better... at least for the first few seasons.

Much.

Homicide: Life on the Street was much better... at least for the first few seasons.

But but but.. Ice T!

Sorry, first of all this thread is not meant to flamebait, I am simply hoping to start a discussion on why american television programmes are so terrible.

After about a year and a half of not having more than four channels, I found out that I could catch most of what I was missing by going to the gym. I was able to discover the "joy" of cable programming, so at least so I thought.

To my horrid surprise, all of my previous favourite channels are now filled with crap. How can television change so much within a short one and a half years?

For instance,

History Channel
before: random interesting shows about the history of ancient cultures, inventions, food, etc
now: shows about the alaska wilderness, and ice truckers, for up to 16 hours a day (I kid you not)

Discovery Channel
before: religious analysis, nature shows, mythbusters, etc
now: some show about a bunch of chaps stuck on a fishing ship (and this show runs about 24/7)

Food Channel
before: teaches you how to cook
now: reality shows about aspiring chefs talking to *shudders* Martha Stuart

MTV
before: music videos with actual music in them
now: shows about hue heffner and his ditzy girls doing ditzy things/hulk hogan's daughter's pms journals or whatever

Cartoon Network
before: quality cartoons that was actually fun to watch
now: badly drawn series with little to no plot and repeated jokes

CNN/Fox/MSNBC
before: haven't watched it before
now: blah blah blah obama is a socialist, blah blah blah mccain, wmd, foreign visit, petrol prices, etc

And the list goes on and on and on.

Why is American television becoming so boring now? It's like the entire industry is being dumbed down or something. Now it feels like there's 70 channels and nothing good on.

Oh, also if anyone wants to recommend some good shows that are actually enjoyable, then please feel free to share them. :)

2 words about the sadass state of American television today.

"Marketing Executives":gundge::mp5::mp5::mp5::gundge::gundge::mp5:
-need I say more?

But but but.. Ice T!
It's all about The Munch, baby.

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/muppet/images/thumb/c/c7/SLU3.JPG/100px-SLU3.JPG

-snip-

How do their detector vans know you are watching TV, does it hone in on some digital signal emitting from your home?

Superhero comedy/loving parody. ABC Family. Should probably warn you, they bleep out swear words.

Yeah I might have to wait till (if) it comes to Australia.

Sorry, first of all this thread is not meant to flamebait, I am simply hoping to start a discussion on why american television programmes are so terrible.

Dunno... I can give you the state of italian television for comparison. The most viewed channels are the three state-TV channels (RAI1, RAI2, RAI3) and the three Silvio-Berlusconi-owned TV channels (Rete4, Canale5, Italia1).

RAI1
News: focused on praising the Pope and Silvio Berlusconi
Typical programmes: boring shows about the "human side of it" (mostly about elderly people), speeches of the Pope on Sundays, some football, gossip, and locally-produced fiction with commies in the baddies' roles

RAI2
News: "oh my gawd teh ebil darkiez r koming! tehyre all kriminulz! aiee!", and praising Silvio Berlusconi
Typical programmes: anything for decerebrated youngsters (like the italian version of American Idol "X Factor", or reality shows), and some replicas of old US TV series, like T.J.Hooker, Hunter... you got the gist.

RAI3
News: attempts at being somewhat on the left-wing without being kicked out the State TV... but how can one possibily praise Walter Veltroni or Fausto Bertie-naughty?
Typical programmes: shows and interviews about internal politics, labour politics, international politics, and even :eek2:science

RETE4
News: the director, Emilio Fede, is also called the "Fido Fede", with Fido being a typical italian dog's name which stands for "faithful". Guess faithful to whom... I'll give you a hint: S.B. . Also in the news "teh kommiez are coming! teh kommiez are coming! tehy hate poor Silvio!"
Typical programmes: aimed at housewives, that is, soaps and shows and interviews about family life, and lots of gossip

CANALE5
News: try to be businesslike as you praise Silvio Berlusconi
Typical programmes: mostly replicas or italian versions of US programmes

ITALIA1
News: yo, yo, life's good but the ebil darkie kommiez try 2 ruin it, praise Silvio Berlusconi
Typical programmes: anime and reality shows, muzak

Chain's only as strong as its weakest link.
I'm forced, more and more of late, that it's few and far between to have much significant worthwhile programming in the U.S.
Seriously.
Now when someone says "let the market sort it out", these kinds of things come screaming back into the mind.

No the other sea Patrol that was on SBS at 11:00 pm Thursday nights, of course I mean that propaganda machine, is that the why you refused to watch it? While I did mention its flaws it was still a decent show. I also mentioned a few sit-coms how they can be soap operas is beyond me.


I attempted to watch it a few times, but couldn't get through the melodrama and blatant nationalistic militarism. The whole show was overacted and completely non-believable. And yes, the main reason I didn't watch it is that the Australian Navy provided a majority of it's funding, on the hope that it would recruit young boys and girls into believing that Navy life was a glamourous party filled with lots of sex, drinking and adventure.

Hey Dad was okay, but not on the par of many American sitcoms. Overall, I think that TV is one of the few things that Americans do really well.

I attempted to watch it a few times, but couldn't get through the melodrama and blatant nationalistic militarism. The whole show was overacted and completely non-believable. And yes, the main reason I didn't watch it is that the Australian Navy provided a majority of it's funding, on the hope that it would recruit young boys and girls into believing that Navy life was a glamourous party filled with lots of sex, drinking and adventure.

First bolded part: What, excuse me can you show me a clip where this is evident, I will say that there was sometimes a bit to much melodrama especially in the second series which wasn't as good as the first.

Just because it was partly financed by the RAN doesn't mean that you will be recruited if you watch it, I mean really, surely you don't think that your mind i that weak to fall for it? I watched it knowing full well that it was designed with the intention help me decide to sign up, but I still watched it.

Second Bolded part: Hardly, full of adventure, yes, sex and drinking no, it did show parts when they did drink, but what would you expect them to do when they aren't working or are having a party, which only happened a few times over both series.

Hey Dad was okay, but not on the par of many American sitcoms. Overall, I think that TV is one of the few things that Americans do really well.

Hahaha, are you serious there is more crap coming out of America than anywhere else. That isn't really fair America has made a lot of good stuff over the years but for every good show they have made two shit shows have also been produced.

You said no good shows since the 70's have been made in Australia, what ones where you thinking of?

Also, another good comedy that I didn't mention is Mother and Son, I mean come on, you cannot say that wasn't funny.

First bolded part: What, excuse me can you show me a clip where this is evident, I will say that there was sometimes a bit to much melodrama especially in the second series which wasn't as good as the first.

Just because it was partly financed by the RAN doesn't mean that you will be recruited if you watch it, I mean really, surely you don't think that your mind i that weak to fall for it? I watched it knowing full well that it was designed with the intention help me decide to sign up, but I still watched it.

I never said that it influenced me, merely that it was designed to influence people to join the Navy by promoting a certain image. And most Australians who watch this show are not aware that it is partially funded by the RAN.

Second Bolded part: Hardly, full of adventure, yes, sex and drinking no, it did show parts when they did drink, but what would you expect them to do when they aren't working or are having a party, which only happened a few times over both series.

I seem to recall a furore over the show's depiction of Navy life being not accurate due to the level of sex and partying (http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,23791857-10229,00.html) depicted on the show.



Hahaha, are you serious there is more crap coming out of America than anywhere else. That isn't really fair America has made a lot of good stuff over the years but for every good show they have made two shit shows have also been produced.

I also never said that there was no crap ever produced by America. You only have to look at the insidious pandemic of reality television shows to see that. But a lot of American television shows on channels like Showcase and HBO are quality, groundbreaking and interesting. Admittedly, we don't get HBO out here so I only know the few shows we do in fact get, but they do some amazing things.

I don't happen to think that Australian television is where we do our best work. I think some of our TV, such as Thank God You're Here, Good News Week, Salaam Cafe etc innovative and unique. But quality drama and comedy is not something that we really offer at the moment, or for a long time.

Since I am Canadian, allow me to tell you all about my thoughts, as a high school student, about Canadian television as I view it. Please keep in mind that I rely on cable for my television viewing. Sorry if this is deviating from the topic just a bit.
----------------------------

I don't really watch much television anymore; instead I watch King of the Hill DVDs, play my PS3/PSP, or just read some books I get from the library and the reason for this lies within how much Canadian television has declined for me. Keep in mind that this post will be about Canadian and not American television. When I was younger, I would watch shows like ALF and Captain Star (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoP71IH8tv8) (a science fiction cartoon about a man named Captain Jim Star who discovered planets and named them after himself; it was one of my family's favorites). I also enjoyed Ren and Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life along with Hey Arnold. These shows gradually left the airwaves to my dismay since I really got into them when I was younger. The Saturday Godzilla Movies on CBC also vanished and for me, a huge fan of Godzilla (only the Japanese version), that saddened me. I still watch The Simpsons which is still funny to me even if it has declined in the eyes of television viewers and I adore King of the Hill (The Hank's Giving Episode: EPIC ROFL) which I watch new episodes of every Sunday (when a new episode is on) along with the new Simpsons episodes. Usually I'll only watch these two shows along with an old movie I like such as The Emperor's New Clothes (a movie about Napoleon's plan to get off St. Helena by switching himself with a doppelganger). I recall RAI International being criticized in Canada since many Italians viewed it as nothing more than being a puppet for Berlesconi to get votes since Italian law allows for the diaspora to vote in Italian elections. In Canada, RAI recently duked it out with Telelatino which broadcasts Spanish programming; they also broadcast Italian language pornographic movies on Fridays and Saturdays (along with "Latin Lover" but I don't watch any of that stuff albeit I notice it from time to time as I flip the channels)

I love shows such as Joan of Arcadia because the show's storyline is so meaningful and enjoyable. It really does bring to light the story of the girl's namesake in my opinion and I find Joan of Arc to be an inspirational enigma. The idea of a peasant girl of seventeen leading an army to victory at Orleans, for example, is just fascinating. You may think she was insane or whatever, and I don't mind that, but I think she did great deeds and that she was a great person who has inspired many to, in the words of the narrator on a documentary about Joan, "follow our own voices even if they consume us." Reaper is another show I like to watch. When these shows got cut off from television networks, I was saddened since I again lost some good shows. I still have old VHS tapes of old television shows I used to watch such as Stickin Around (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCTBHLI4IhY) which was a Canada-France co-production about the world through the eyes of average everyday children. I used to watch it when I was younger since it was enjoyable and funny to my younger self.

Do I hate Canadian television? I don't hate it, per se, but I dislike some of it. I miss shows like Royal Canadian Air Farce (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdeg9izJE3I) which approached world events from a satirist's lens and which also mocked and poked fun at popular culture. It was a pleasure to watch and I commend the show's creators, actors and writers for all their work. Rick Mercer is quite a good comedian at times as well and Just for Laughs Gags is, at times, a bit of ROFL. The only major problem I have with Canadian television is the ripoffs of American shows. I can understand Canadian Idol but Are You Smarter Than A Canadian Fifth Grader is just, to quote the Angry Video Game Nerd, "F_____ Horrendous!" I hate it completely and to me it should be replaced. It is my least favorite show. Now, I would accept the opinions of those who think that Canadians would not mind having their own versions of hit American shows but do you think we really need to keep doing it? Why not some original ideas? Could you imagine a Canadian edition of Death Note? Sure, it would be interesting, but would probably not last long. I think that Canadian television should try to make more original television shows instead of these blatant ripoffs. Seriously, you could just go ahead in France and say: Deal or No Deal France! Speaking of Europe, I adore British shows such as Mr. Bean. Rowan Atkinson is a great comedian alongside Monty Python and his troupe. My mom watches Are You Being Served? and we have the DVD set which has all the episodes. My parents often like the shows from their day; with my father being a huge Bionic Man/Woman fan while my mother likes shows like Columbo which I actually like myself along with Get Smart. To me, Get Smart and Columbo are actually pretty good shows to watch even in the 21st Century. I also like watching anime but I only get Bleach and Death Note, two of my seven or so favorites, on TV. I need to use Youtube, Joox and DVDs for my other favorites such as The Big O (recently I watched most of Le Chevalier D'Eon via Youtube until the English dubs were pulled off but the Japanese ones are still avaliable which is odd to me). I also used to watch History Channel a lot but now I don't anymore. The shows are not as good as they were before to me and the movies are not good albeit I recently watched Hitler: The Rise of Evil which was made by Christian Duguay who made my favorite film adaptation of Joan of Arc's life; the 1999 TV movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_p_H88xxnI) starring Leelee Sobieski. Yes, I have seen others like Luc Besson's version with Milla Jovovich (One scene is ROFL).

I think that American television is pretty good with King of the Hill, Simpsons and so forth. Some American shows are good and some are not. Hopefully, though, we'll all see the good ones more. After all, who does not like the antics of Hank Hill, the stupidity of Homer Simpson, and the exploits of people from various other good American shows. House, to me, is quite good. The commercials we have here that advertise the show are funny in some instances. I know the majority of this post is about Canadian television, yes, but I was hoping to talk about Canadian television since, to me, a lot of its programming is at times just ripped off from America.

So how do I close this little post about my television viewing? I would close it by saying that these are just the thoughts of a Canadian high school student and nothing more or less. Thank you in advance to all who read this post of mine.

I never said that it influenced me, merely that it was designed to influence people to join the Navy by promoting a certain image. And most Australians who watch this show are not aware that it is partially funded by the RAN.

Why would it matter if they know it or not? And if you know it then you can still watch it.

I seem to recall a furore over the show's depiction of Navy life being not accurate due to the level of sex and partying (http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,23791857-10229,00.html) depicted on the show.

Yes and as I said the show got worse in the second series, which is when this happened.

I also never said that there was no crap ever produced by America. You only have to look at the insidious pandemic of reality television shows to see that. But a lot of American television shows on channels like Showcase and HBO are quality, groundbreaking and interesting. Admittedly, we don't get HBO out here so I only know the few shows we do in fact get, but they do some amazing things.

I don't happen to think that Australian television is where we do our best work. I think some of our TV, such as Thank God You're Here, Good News Week, Salaam Cafe etc innovative and unique. But quality drama and comedy is not something that we really offer at the moment, or for a long time.

Yes HBO has produced many quality shows over the years except for that some how popular show "sex and the city", but as you did list some TV shows which are decent, and I will say that no not everything we make is good, but I would still disagree that everything we have made since the 70's is poor. Think about shows such as "The Games" now there was a good show.

Parts of it are excellent - Sopranos, Deadwood, Dexter, the Wire etc. the last few years have produced some of the best TV that has even been made. But in the UK we only get to see the best of US television - I assume in the US you probably get to see the best of UK tv and don't get to see rubbish like Bonekickers.

Dexter reminds me of Death Note but without all the supernatural elements. I`ve seen some Dexter and the show is quite good and to my liking since I like stories about people like Dexter. I`m in the process of getting the novel that the show was based on from my library but I am on a waiting list.....

-snip-

Sticking Around I remember that show many many years ago, yes I enjoyed it immensely. Actually I have noticed over the years from my childhood and now through my son's that Canada has produced some excellent children's programs.

Uh, no.

Old Cartoon Network - Cow & Chicken, I Am Weasel, Dexter's Labratory, Powerpuff Girls, other crap, Land Before Time marathons. They occasionally had old, classic cartoons after dark. Now it is anime and better cartoons.

You must mean Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon used to have interesting cartoons & shows like Rocko's Modern Life, Clarissa Explains It All, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Secret World of Alex Mac, etc and now it is all live action crap with teenie boppers.

I miss the following: Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, and Rocko's Modern Life (I was a hardcore fan!)

Those were excellent shows that even my own father took an interest in; Hey Arnold being notable since he usually was able to remember the thing about Arnold....that his head was shaped like a football and I have seen the movie many times over the years. Hey Arnold is one of the cartoons I can easily remember watching.

The only Nickelodeon show I like now is Spongebob because I am fond of Squidward. :)

Sticking Around I remember that show many many years ago, yes I enjoyed it immensely. Actually I have noticed over the years from my childhood and now through my son's that Canada has produced some excellent children's programs.

I have VHS tapes of it still from years back and at times I watch them just to remember the good old days. :)

I also have Rugrats VHS tapes (when Tommy and his friends were just babies; before All Grown Up came out) and the VHS versions of all the movies except the one with them meeting the Wild Thornberries. I mention that because it is a classic piece of American children's programming.

I have VHS tapes of it still from years back and at times I watch them just to remember the good old days. :)

I also have Rugrats VHS tapes (when Tommy and his friends were just babies; before All Grown Up came out) and the VHS versions of all the movies except the one with them meeting the Wild Thornberries. I mention that because it is a classic piece of American children's programming.

Yes, yes I know where you are coming from. I have a 3 hour VHS tape of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, if you can imagine how many 5 minute episodes are on that (yes I do realise it is 36 but still a lot), not that I have watched it for years.

Yes Rugrats, I enjoy and I was a bit unhappy when they decided to make them grow up, in the purist of money. Rugrats was one of the best kids shows to come out of Kaslko Cuspo? if that is spelt right and one of the best shows during my childhood.

Sorry, first of all this thread is not meant to flamebait, I am simply hoping to start a discussion on why american television programmes are so terrible.

After about a year and a half of not having more than four channels, I found out that I could catch most of what I was missing by going to the gym. I was able to discover the "joy" of cable programming, so at least so I thought.

To my horrid surprise, all of my previous favourite channels are now filled with crap. How can television change so much within a short one and a half years?

For instance,

History Channel
before: random interesting shows about the history of ancient cultures, inventions, food, etc
now: shows about the alaska wilderness, and ice truckers, for up to 16 hours a day (I kid you not)

Discovery Channel
before: religious analysis, nature shows, mythbusters, etc
now: some show about a bunch of chaps stuck on a fishing ship (and this show runs about 24/7)

Food Channel
before: teaches you how to cook
now: reality shows about aspiring chefs talking to *shudders* Martha Stuart

MTV
before: music videos with actual music in them
now: shows about hue heffner and his ditzy girls doing ditzy things/hulk hogan's daughter's pms journals or whatever

Cartoon Network
before: quality cartoons that was actually fun to watch
now: badly drawn series with little to no plot and repeated jokes

CNN/Fox/MSNBC
before: haven't watched it before
now: blah blah blah obama is a socialist, blah blah blah mccain, wmd, foreign visit, petrol prices, etc

And the list goes on and on and on.

Why is American television becoming so boring now? It's like the entire industry is being dumbed down or something. Now it feels like there's 70 channels and nothing good on.

Oh, also if anyone wants to recommend some good shows that are actually enjoyable, then please feel free to share them. :)

American television must consider the tastes of 3,000,000 and is written with the purpose of attracting an audience to inflate the price of ads. The shows that attract the biggest audience are going to be those that offend the smallest number of people rather than have the most amount of quality. That's why TV execs try to improve shows by taking things out rather than putting them in. The clearest way to understand this point is to watch a British TV show and then watch its American equivalent. They don't make them more American, they just make them less British.

As for the schedule, the easiest way to attract an audience is to go with a proven winner. There aren't enough people who want to watch shows about animals and history, so in any given hour the audience will be the highest when playing whatever their flavor of the month is. Right now its shows about machismo in Alaska.

CNN, AOL owns it now. It's original mandate was to be the American equivalent of BBC World News, but when Ted Turner sold it, it became just another corporate asset for a mulit-national corporation.

The American TV we get in Great Britain isn’t all that bad, just depends what you’re after. If you want some light hearted comedy then the US of A makes some good stuff like My Name is Earl, Scrubs, Chuck etc. I like them as much as modern British comedy which is more panel show based like Busscocks, Mock the Week, QI and so on.

UK television is better when you want something more sophisticated, usually from the BBC. Things like what the ancients did for us (Adam Heat-Davis, what a legend), panorama and news night.

The only direct comparison I have between the two is our Scrapheap Challenge and there Junkyard Wars. Scrapheap focuses on the engineering and just the jolly good fun that it is. Whereas junkyard has a lot of macho shouting and people called "dog", there not to fussed about the engineering side of things and its allot more competitive.

Different audiences want different things I guess

EDIT: American TV has way to many adverts, when watching the shows you can see when the breaks are and its every 10 mins, how can you get into anything? Our commercial TV usually has a very short advert every 15 mins or a longer one every half an hour

I'd like you to list some of the "better" cartoons though. Although I must admit I am taking quite a liking to Flapjack because of its historical pirate-esque setting.
Flap-jack is literally brand new. And even that is better than the crap they used to have on. What about The Boondocks or Ben 10?

I miss the following: Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, and Rocko's Modern Life (I was a hardcore fan!)

Those were excellent shows that even my own father took an interest in; Hey Arnold being notable since he usually was able to remember the thing about Arnold....that his head was shaped like a football and I have seen the movie many times over the years. Hey Arnold is one of the cartoons I can easily remember watching.

The only Nickelodeon show I like now is Spongebob because I am fond of Squidward. :)

So you like the cartoons for people with the IQ of rocks? Hey Arnold! was good but Rocko's Modern Life was the same lame sight gags and immature crap that the Cartoon Cartoons were on Cartoon Network.

I saw this earlier today which relates to this thread

"Television – a medium. So called because it is neither rare nor well done."

Ernie Kovacs

I'll bring it up again...it's also summer. TV sucks during the summer.

American television has been subverted by the Democratic Party-it exists as a propagande tool of Socialism. This is largely why it sucks-but British Television has had a commensurate "suckage" occurring-there is no new "Monty Python", nor "Doctor Who"-last good series I saw was"MacBeth",largely due to it's innovative take on rural UK life.
I personally blame the advent of cable, and so few shows being locally produced. Quite frankly, American television was much better when shows locally produced appeared on it-but with cable, the ratings demands for such shows had declined as the "nation's" tastes take over from "local" tastes, and advertisers focus on a national, or in some cases, worldwide market.
Since advertisers switched to as broad a base as possible, quality programming went out the window as easily understood programming reached out to the international viewer-I mean, "Baywatch" did not become the most viewed program due to it's intricate plots or characterization. As television moved world-wide, so did it's target audience-and American television DOES appeal to a world-wide audience.

Yeah I might have to wait till (if) it comes to Australia.

It's pretty good, so it might. Oh, well.

I know this has been sort of mentioned but I wanted to drop in my own thoughts.

A lot of our television caters to the lowest common denominator. Shows like Jerry Springer and Maury cater to the human desire to gain self validation by comparing to others whose lives make us grateful that we aren't them. It's kinda of like the impulse to slow down and look at a grizzly traffic accident scene. "There but for the grace of God..."

And then there's the drama in the evenings, saturated with political indoctrination. We have shows like Law & Order that almost every single episode demonizes the accused's right to vigorous defense and regularly excuses blatant violations of the Consitution by the heroes of the show, commenting the whole time about how their jobs would be so much easier and they'd be so much more effective if not for those pesky rights.

And let's not forget E.R. The episode where a psycho goes on a shooting spree because he wants to get revenge on Dr. Greene for whatever and he's finally stopped by a citizen who had his own gun. All of the more popular characters sneered right down their noses at the hero for having a gun despite the fact that he had saved lives with it. In an ironic twist, it was Dr. Greene who killed the psycho by watching him code in the elevator and taking no action to save him. (Ever notice how the more conservative characters on that show were the least likable and most disagreeable characters? Despite this, I loved Dr. Romano who got, what is IMHO, the most humiliating and least dignified death of any character on television, ever. His fault I guess for being right wing.)

I don't know if regular TV in other parts of the world is like this, but I like my social commentary much more balanced. It's one of the t hings I love about Battlestar Galactica... it represents both sides of many contemporary issues and really makes us look at it from all angles, and then draws no conclusions of its own. It leaves that to us.

I guess it comes as no surprise that BSG is not an exclusively American production.

So you like the cartoons for people with the IQ of rocks? Hey Arnold! was good but Rocko's Modern Life was the same lame sight gags and immature crap that the Cartoon Cartoons were on Cartoon Network.

I liked Rocko when I was younger since I just was fond of Rocko's exploits along with those of his friends and so forth. I would actually watch it again but only to remember the old days and I don't think it is as bad as you think but you are entitled to your opinion. The same can be said with Hey Arnold!.

Pantless, have you heard of CatDog? That's a cartoon I can remember well. I still have a toy or something from the CatDog franchise in my house, I believe.

I know this has been sort of mentioned but I wanted to drop in my own thoughts.

A lot of our television caters to the lowest common denominator. Shows like Jerry Springer and Maury cater to the human desire to gain self validation by comparing to others whose lives make us grateful that we aren't them. It's kinda of like the impulse to slow down and look at a grizzly traffic accident scene. "There but for the grace of God..."

That is what I think myself; I never have really cared for Springer at all. Maury has some merit but is just the same thing really but under a different name and just toned down. Needless to say, I would not mind if they were cancelled. I was told that Steve Wilkos, Springer's former associate, has his own show and that it has a lot of good stuff in it. I think I'll look into that one.

i watch late night with conan o'brien,bones,watched life on mars till it ended,BSG till finland's channel four stopped airing it,penn and teller,mythbusters,chappele's show until it stopped,house and the original C.S.I.

That is what I think myself; I never have really cared for Springer at all. Maury has some merit but is just the same thing really but under a different name and just toned down. Needless to say, I would not mind if they were cancelled. I was told that Steve Wilkos, Springer's former associate, has his own show and that it has a lot of good stuff in it. I think I'll look into that one.

Don't bother. I've seen his show and all I saw was a big guy yelling and shouting at a woman who'd committed some pretty serious crimes. It's almost like Steve represents society talking down to this woman in some sort of proxy mob justice. There was nothing constructive or positive about it at all.

Don't bother. I've seen his show and all I saw was a big guy yelling and shouting at a woman who'd committed some pretty serious crimes. It's almost like Steve represents society talking down to this woman in some sort of proxy mob justice. There was nothing constructive or positive about it at all.

I think I may still watch it though but just to satisfy my curiousity about the show. It may be good to me or may not; I can only wait and see. However, there are shows that I don't like at all and that I would actually enjoy seeing cancelled. Those are:

1. Jerry Springer: I don't really think that we should spend time watching about how people's lives are really screwed up. I think we could easily replace it with something more....better. I fully agree with Neo Bretonnia: Jerry Springer is nothing more than an half hour or whatever about how we are so lucky to have better lives than the guests.

2. Maury: From what I have seen of this show, you might as well rename it to "Is This Your Baby?" since all they talk about is paternity tests with the occassional lie detector test about a man or woman's unfaithfulness. That's all it is; really it is just a toned down Jerry Springer but with the same premise, that is, that some people really are just messed up.

3. Are You Smarter Than A Canadian Fifth Grader: Nothing to say about this one. It is, to me, what (playing) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the NES is for the Angry Video Game Nerd. It is just bad and shows how Canada really needs to make original shows more often instead of just filling the airwaves with unoriginal ripoffs of American shows. I would love to see this show replaced.

Basically these are the only shows I really dislike. I don't really watch as much television as I used to though but if the shows I liked came back on then sure, I'd watch more. I still watch The Simpsons a lot as well as King of the Hill. Now, some of you may think that The Simpsons, the colossus of American cartoons, has declined in the past few years with a loss of its serious nature. I must say that although that may be so, since I don't deny that it has lost of the old stuff about it, that it is still funny to me and that I still enjoy watching Homer's antics.

As for King of the Hill, it is a great show that has the Simpsons charm mixed with simple realism through the eyes of Hank and his friends and family. Peggy Hill's self-centered outlook on life (along with her blatant foolishness such as the episode with her falling for a con), Hank's devotion to his values (as seen often in episodes with him often refusing to go along with things anathema to him) and Dale's antics (thinking a bidet was a water fountain is one of Dale's best moments) all make me laugh; sometimes to the point of ROFL. I recommend episodes like "The Hank's Giving Episode" which really shows me how Mike Judge, creator of Beavis and Butthead, has a gift with humor (that episode made me ROFL all through the half hour; it was simply great). King of the Hill remains, in my opinion, one of the best shows I have ever seen (I tell you what, to quote Hank). Of course I enjoy other shows as well but I just wanted to bring up my thoughts on these particular two favorites of mine.

American television must consider the tastes of 3,000,000 and is written with the purpose of attracting an audience to inflate the price of ads. The shows that attract the biggest audience are going to be those that offend the smallest number of people rather than have the most amount of quality. That's why TV execs try to improve shows by taking things out rather than putting them in. The clearest way to understand this point is to watch a British TV show and then watch its American equivalent. They don't make them more American, they just make them less British.


You mean those infide- er... nice men in suits at NBC that dumb down shows and take away the important cultural aspects of it? Yeah. That's why I don't watch the office or any of the shows that have been Americanised. Whats wrong with original British shows? That's like saying "oh sorry you americans are too dumb to understand british humour, here we've make everything simple".

I am quite offended by NBC.

Flap-jack is literally brand new. And even that is better than the crap they used to have on. What about The Boondocks or Ben 10?

The Boondocks is good, although I can never catch it because its on at like 11 or midnight or something. Ben 10 (the new season w/ teenagers) is quite good. I think they're made by the same crew as Team Titans so that's an alright show.

American television has been subverted by the Democratic Party-it exists as a propagande tool of Socialism.

Are you kidding me?! If only that was the case, I would watch television 24/7 as I am a socialist myself. :D

I think television is more of a capitalist's tool, because in America (as many have stated) it mainly runs on ratings and profit. There's been many decent shows with a half coherent plot (New Amsterdam anyone?) that have been cut because historical fictions don't appeal to a large majority of the targeted audience.


A lot of our television caters to the lowest common denominator. Shows like Jerry Springer and Maury cater to the human desire to gain self validation by comparing to others whose lives make us grateful that we aren't them.

Not only that, those shows are just plain stupid. Every time I flip to that show there's always some crazy redneck lady screaming something like "nuh uh bitch ya'll ain't my baby dady's uncle's cousin's brother's neighbour's sister's man so I ain't takin' no shit" or something random like that. :confused: I mean, are people so pathetic that networks can take advantage of this and promote hate?

American television has been subverted by the Democratic Party-it exists as a propagande tool of Socialism. This is largely why it sucks-but British Television has had a commensurate "suckage" occurring-there is no new "Monty Python", nor "Doctor Who"-last good series I saw was"MacBeth",largely due to it's innovative take on rural UK life.
I personally blame the advent of cable, and so few shows being locally produced. Quite frankly, American television was much better when shows locally produced appeared on it-but with cable, the ratings demands for such shows had declined as the "nation's" tastes take over from "local" tastes, and advertisers focus on a national, or in some cases, worldwide market.
Since advertisers switched to as broad a base as possible, quality programming went out the window as easily understood programming reached out to the international viewer-I mean, "Baywatch" did not become the most viewed program due to it's intricate plots or characterization. As television moved world-wide, so did it's target audience-and American television DOES appeal to a world-wide audience.
what locally produced shows are you thinking of?

I know this has been sort of mentioned but I wanted to drop in my own thoughts.

A lot of our television caters to the lowest common denominator. Shows like Jerry Springer and Maury cater to the human desire to gain self validation by comparing to others whose lives make us grateful that we aren't them. It's kinda of like the impulse to slow down and look at a grizzly traffic accident scene. "There but for the grace of God..."

And then there's the drama in the evenings, saturated with political indoctrination. We have shows like Law & Order that almost every single episode demonizes the accused's right to vigorous defense and regularly excuses blatant violations of the Consitution by the heroes of the show, commenting the whole time about how their jobs would be so much easier and they'd be so much more effective if not for those pesky rights.

And let's not forget E.R. The episode where a psycho goes on a shooting spree because he wants to get revenge on Dr. Greene for whatever and he's finally stopped by a citizen who had his own gun. All of the more popular characters sneered right down their noses at the hero for having a gun despite the fact that he had saved lives with it. In an ironic twist, it was Dr. Greene who killed the psycho by watching him code in the elevator and taking no action to save him. (Ever notice how the more conservative characters on that show were the least likable and most disagreeable characters? Despite this, I loved Dr. Romano who got, what is IMHO, the most humiliating and least dignified death of any character on television, ever. His fault I guess for being right wing.)

I don't know if regular TV in other parts of the world is like this, but I like my social commentary much more balanced. It's one of the t hings I love about Battlestar Galactica... it represents both sides of many contemporary issues and really makes us look at it from all angles, and then draws no conclusions of its own. It leaves that to us.

I guess it comes as no surprise that BSG is not an exclusively American production.


dr romano was hated because he was a dick. no politics necessary.

what locally produced shows are you thinking of?We had Milky the Clown, and Soupy Sales, among the kiddie shows, and although I was too young to pay much attention to the adult fare, the Lou Gordon talk-show was famous in the area, and George Pierrot's travelogues... Nobody on this board, of course, has the faintest idea what I am talking about.

If you get the Sci-fi channel Eureka is starting up it's new season tonight. Great show, alternates between dramatic and hilarious.

PA: It's summer. Television, during the summer, automatically sucks. It's all reruns.

Shows about ice truckers were better the first time around.

We had Milky the Clown, and Soupy Sales, among the kiddie shows, and although I was too young to pay much attention to the adult fare, the Lou Gordon talk-show was famous in the area, and George Pierrot's travelogues... Nobody on this board, of course, has the faintest idea what I am talking about.
yes but you arent suggesting that those shows were GOOD are you?

If you get the Sci-fi channel Eureka is starting up it's new season tonight. Great show, alternates between dramatic and hilarious.

Finally, something to watch instead of posting on NS.

Not only that, those shows are just plain stupid. Every time I flip to that show there's always some crazy redneck lady screaming something like "nuh uh bitch ya'll ain't my baby dady's uncle's cousin's brother's neighbour's sister's man so I ain't takin' no shit" or something random like that. :confused: I mean, are people so pathetic that networks can take advantage of this and promote hate?

I fully agree with you. I would love it if these shows were replaced with more quality programming since they really are worthless in my eyes. Jerry Springer would be obscure and not really known about if it was not for his show, I think, since I don't recall anything else significant that he has done.

I fully agree with you. I would love it if these shows were replaced with more quality programming since they really are worthless in my eyes. Jerry Springer would be obscure and not really known about if it was not for his show, I think, since I don't recall anything else significant that he has done.

Former mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Formerly ran for Governor of Ohio (lost after it was revealed, he paid a hooker with a check)

I agree, thats exactly what iv'e been saying about the history channel, however I would try The military channel, i also agree about cartoon network, I used to love edd ed and eddie but now it's chowder:mad:

We could start to improve American TV by eliminating Dr. Phil and his spiritual siblings.

Former mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Formerly ran for Governor of Ohio (lost after it was revealed, he paid a hooker with a check)

I never heard about that before. Jerry Springer actually did all that? Interesting. :eek:

Finally, something to watch instead of posting on NS.
Multitask, moddamit!
I posted WHILE watching it. Even altered my
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ever so slightly. And more accurate. Well, in retrospect, about the same, just different.

yes but you arent suggesting that those shows were GOOD are you?Soupy Sales had his moments.

If you get the Sci-fi channel Eureka is starting up it's new season tonight. Great show, alternates between dramatic and hilarious.
Hi-five!
:D

So this is a bit of a turn from the first season with Allison, eh?

i would say basically economics has poor taste in art.

that's what i see as having been the bottom line problem with entertainment as industry for as almost as long as there's been broadcast media in any form.

the saving grace of the internet is that we all have access to creating its content, for however long that lasts. and of course the for profit media absolutely hates that we do.

=^^=
.../\...

Soupy Sales had his moments.
so does dancing with the stars.

I usually content myself with watching Dark Angel reruns on the Sci-Fi channel during the summer times. ;) Although the movies on that channel have gotten really terrible.

That is so true. Sometime, I find myself watching them just to see if they can get any worse. They are!!!. Every now and then they mess with us and throw in a good one.

There was one about 2-3 weeks ago called Leprechaun in the Hood, and the sequel Leprechaun Back 2 da Hood. Talk abouit tacky and cheesy. I thought I was in the cheese factory. That is what happens when you come home from working a split shift at 0200-0300, and there is nothing else worth a crap on tv.

Thank god for TIVO and for Netflix.